Fall is Here

Fall is here with her spectacular sunsets and seasonal mini bouquets:

Dahlias and Virginia Creeper.

I also harvested milkweed seeds today, from three pods total that I found close to the Sam Adams Brewery. I plan to plant them in the neighborhood in the next few weeks.

Milkweed seeds.

Mid-September

I will take back what I said about cucumbers. I harvested two big ones yesterday, plus green beans and two eggplants. There are just a few more tomatoes on the vines now, sadly.

Still going strong: leeks and carrots. Also still some cucumbers, eggplants, hot peppers and green beans. And the arugula, chard, kale, fall greens and radishes I sowed a little while ago are looking good.

Here are some recipes I made recently that used home-grown garden produce: roasted green beans with harissa, baked eggplant with garlic and basil, roasted cod with potatoes and green beans, Greek salad, pesto potato salad with green beans, Pico de Gallo, Swiss chard frittata.

No More Cucumbers

Today’s harvest: Swiss Chard, Kentucky Wonder pole beans, tomato, eggplant, dahlias.

The cucumber vine has started to wither. There is a couple more cucumbers still but I am not sure if they will make it. Well, we had a good run for sure. Still growing: tomatoes (winding down), pole beans, eggplant, chard, kale, carrots, leeks, hot peppers, greens, radish, arugula. The last three were just sown a couple of weeks ago, so they are not ready for harvest just yet. I also still have my directly sowed butternut squash. It looks great and has plenty of flowers, but I believe it is too late in the season for it to bear fruit. Alas.

I ordered seed garlic this past weekend: softneck Transsylvania from Burpee. I decided to save a few of my biggest Red Russian heads for planting. This will not happen until late October/early November. I also ordered a ton of bulbs and perennials for fall planting for our front yard (tulips, crocuses, black-eyed Susan).

Basil

I harvested a lot of basil today, about a third of what is in my plot. I will puree the washed and dried leaves with olive oil and freeze for use in the winter. I find that just freezing the basil in oil makes it more versatile for cooking and it keeps better. I use it to top soups or as pesto for pasta, pizza, potatoes or chicken. I just add the cheese and pine nuts (for pasta) later during cooking.

Today’s produce harvested other than basil. (My first red dahlia is finally blooming!)

Rainbow Harvest

Today is Labor Day and the temperatures are in the 90s. The tomatoes and cucumbers are winding down. There is still a steady production of pole beans and chard, and the eggplant has a handful of fruit. The arugula and radishes I sowed are coming in nicely. The golden beets and mache are a no-show. I never got mache to grow in my plot. Not sure what the problem is. I successfully have grown mache in the spring in trays on my back porch. Also, no fall greens and lettuce yet, which is strange. I might re-sow in the next few days.

Tomatoes, Tomatoes

My three tomato plants are heavily producing. I put them in late, but now at the end of August they are giving me plenty of delicious fruit. Despite my best efforts, I have too many tomatoes to eat raw (e.g. Caprese salad, Greek salad, fresh tomato/mozzarella/basil pasta sauce, or just plain on bread). So, I slow-roasted about three pounds together with garlic and fresh herbs and will either turn them into pesto or top some bruschetta in the next couple of days.

I quartered the larger Brandywines and halved the Momotaros and put them on a parchment-lined, lightly-oiled baking sheet together with some garlic cloves and fresh rosemary and oregano. Seasoned everything with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. I slow-roasted them in a preheated oven at 325 F for about 2 hours. I let them cool and put them in a mason jar in the refrigerator for use within the next few days.